Mark 7: 1-23

Today’s reading is a good text on the eve of All Saints Day. Jesus is pointing to the truth of the doctrine of Original Sin, which to put it in blunt language, teaches that humans are rotten at the core. But, Jesus is also pointing to God’s cure for this condition, ““Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.” (Romans 5:18)

To grasp this truth in today’s reading we need to remember an essential part of being a Christian is spiritual discernment. Anyone who desires to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus will come to appreciate that while spiritual discernment is a skill that can be learned, it is also an art. Part of the art is learning to understand scripture and then test human traditions against it.

Jesus is revealing how the religious leaders had blurred the distinction between tradition and scripture. They were teaching people cultural traditions as though they carried the same weight as scripture. Next, Jesus is showing us how to read the Old Testament. It is from the Law of Moses that the Jews developed their dietary laws about which foods could be eaten and which could not. This is serious because Jewish martyrs had died at the hands of their oppressors because they refused to eat pork. Jesus is saying that all food is permissible to eat. Is he dismissing the Old Testament as now being irrelevant? No. Jesus is demonstrating that the purpose of the Old Testament was to be sign posts of the coming Kingdom of God. The Old Testament is not irrelevant; it is now fulfilled in Jesus. How?

The Jews had laws relating to purity, such a ceremonial washing of hands and a strict menu of what food could be eaten. Jesus is showing that these laws do not deal with the core issue of purity. The purity of a person is not based on what is on the outside (as Marilee’s demonstration with the children in our worship service yesterday so beautifully pointed out); purity does not come from what is taken into the body. Purity is found in what comes out of the heart. Jesus shows that the problem with purity is the human heart has been corrupted by sin. Although Jesus points to the problem of sin here, he does not tell us the cure for this brokenness. 

Not yet. But, this is only Friday (metaphorically), and Sunday is coming. 

Easter Sunday is coming.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

1-Nov-11      Mark 7:24-8:10

Makk 6: 30-56

In Mark’s Gospel Jesus will be arrested in a relatively short period of time after we read of Jesus feeding the five thousand and then walking on the water. Soon the people will turn against Jesus as his disciples scatter. Knowing that, do you wonder; what happened to turn the hearts of the people away from Jesus? Especially in light of the way Mark concludes this passage.

“The people recognized Jesus at once, and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was. Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.”

The last line in verse 52 can give us some insight to that question; “Their hearts were too hard to take it in.” Mark does not mean that statement in a pejorative way. He is not standing in judgment of the men in the boat. After Jesus’ resurrection he knew them all as the Apostles of Jesus. It is simply a statement of fact; recognition that God’s prevenient grace was still at work in them and they did not fully understood the mission of Jesus.

21^st Century Christians most often give Jesus the title ‘Christ’ which means God’s anointed one. Christ is from the Greek translation of Messiah. The reference to Messiah in the Old Testament was a reference to a specific person with a specific mission. He would be the Savior of Israel, the Savior of the world. The miracles of Jesus were not just signs of his divinity or his superhuman powers. They were signs that he was the Messiah announcing the Kingdom of God was breaking through to the world.

What difference does this make? When people are only looking to Jesus for what Jesus can do for them; for Jesus to take care of their fears, pain, and discomfort, they are not seeing Jesus as He is, -- the Messiah.

Here is how the Apostle John responded when he saw Jesus as He is: “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead.” (Revelation 1:17) When you see Jesus as He is you can no longer be self-centered. You become Christ centered.

This I believe is the answer to the question. When I am self-centered my loyalties can be turned in any direction that offers less pain, less fear, more perceived abundance. When I am Christ centered my loyalties are firmly established in God’s Kingdom. 

When I am self-centered I seek God’s blessings. 

When I am Christ centered I seek to Glorify God by being a blessing to others.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

31-Oct-11     Mark 7:1-23

Mark 6: 1-29

In chapter three Mark we learned that Jesus’ family was struggling to make sense of his ministry. In today’s reading we learn that most of Jesus’ hometown still sees Jesus as the carpenter’s son, not the Messiah. I am glad Mark gives us the names of some of Jesus’ siblings; especially James, because it prepares us for the rest of the story. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:7 that after his resurrection Jesus appeared to James. We learn in the Book of Acts that James becomes a leader of the church and he writes the Book of James, the 20^th book in the New Testament. Jesus has taught us about planting seeds and giving the seed time to grow. James is example of Jesus’ teaching in Mark 4:8, “Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

I think Mark wants us to see more than just Jesus’ family and friends having difficulty accepting that a small town boy has been chosen by God to announce the coming Kingdom of God. As we have seen in the previous chapters, Jesus’ proclamations were revolutionary. To accept Jesus as the Messiah, to give your allegiance to God’s Kingdom, could put you in harm’s way. Mark reveals that danger by describing the martyrdom of John the Baptist.

Mark knew the church was being persecuted and through the telling of John’s death he encourages the church to remain faithful. Perhaps the most courageous and enduring witness of the church comes when even the executioner can say of the martyred, “he was a good and holy man.”

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

30-Oct-11     Mark 6:30-56

Mark 5: 21-43

Mark weaves two stories of fear, faith and healing together into a beautiful tapestry revealing both the love of God for individuals and the larger mission of Jesus the Messiah. Either of these stories provide the substance of a powerful devotional exercise. Pick out a character in one of the stories, or perhaps just someone in the crowd and then read the story as you put yourself in their place. Meditate on what you sense, feel, think and experience as you encounter the story from their perspective.

At the end of chapter four Jesus challenged his disciples to reach for greater faith. Here in chapter five Mark reveals the core of the faith Jesus is longing for his followers to embrace. I find it interesting that this faith is modeled by two people who were not disciples. (The early church wanted the woman with the bleeding problem to be remembered always. They gave her the name of Veronica and in the devotional exercise, The Stations of the Cross; she is the woman who wipes Jesus’ face at station six.)

Jairus risks his standing in the community and humbles himself at the feet of Jesus. His faith tells him that Jesus is his only option. There is no other hope for his daughter. Veronica’s faith calls her to take huge risks: a woman reaching out to touch a man in a public place; an unclean person (because of her condition) touching The Teacher. But, she reaches out and touches Jesus because he is her only hope. Perhaps it was these two stories that inspired Mother Teresa to live by the axiom; you will never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.

Jesus tells Veronica that it was her faith that made her well. Her faith did not make the healing happen; her faith allowed her healing to come to her. Her faith had no power other than providing a channel for Jesus’ healing power to flow into her.

After receiving news of the death of his daughter, Jairus continues to act in faith (after Jesus encourages him to set aside his fear) by continuing to his home with Jesus. Jesus touches the little girl and she is alive again.

After setting the man across the lake free Jesus tells him to go home and tell everyone what the Lord has done. Jesus only tells Veronica to go in peace. Jesus tells Jairus and his family to tell no one what has happened. What do you think Mark want us to see in these differences?

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

29-Oct-11     Mark 6:1-29

Mark 5: 1-20

In Tiberius, standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee you look to the east toward the Golan Heights. This has long been a disputed territory in the Middle East and then as now it was not a part of Israel. Mark does not tell us why Jesus went to that side of the lake, but in verse 21 we learn Jesus immediately returned to Israel after this incident. I think it is safe to assume Jesus went there for the purpose of setting the demon possessed man free.

It is important for us to remember that Mark did not write a travel diary. He did not record these events as they happened. Mark’s Gospel is a biography of Jesus, written after the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Accordingly, all of the events, encounters, sermons, miracles and conversations are interpreted by Mark in the light of the victory of Jesus over sin and death.

At the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry the Roman invaders were thought to be the personification of Satan. It was also believed that evil, or monsters, came out of the sea. The Jews believed that any contact with the demon possessed person encounter by Jesus would make them unclean; as would contact with pigs and cemeteries. Accordingly, everything encountered in this incident, from the perspective of the Jews, was evil and unclean. When Jesus exercised his authority over the demons (the forces of evil) and gave them permission to enter into the pigs he was sending the evil back to the sea from whence it had come.

Many people do not like this story because it seems unfair to the owners of the pigs, notwithstanding the fact that the man, the human being, was set free. While I can understand that concern I am more focused on the symbolism of Christ setting free all humanity from the forces of evil, from sin and death.

Two insights in this incident should not be lost over concern for the pigs or herd owners. First, the demons knew Jesus and submitted to his authority. Knowing about Jesus and even respecting Jesus’ authority is not the same as entering into a saving relationship with Jesus. Secondly, the man set free models for us all we need to know about faith sharing or evangelism. Simply tell others what Jesus has done for you.

What word or phrase in these verses

attracts your attention?

Reflect on that word or phrase.

What insights come to you?

How does this passage touch your life today?

28-Oct-11     Mark 5:21-43